The cumulative and convergent toll of subtle, but discouraging, adult actions in schools and other child-serving systems they come into contact with too often impedes the success of children of color, especially those who are poor, and burdens them with an emotional toll they don't deserve.

We know the commonly repeated claim that there are more Black men in prison than in college isn't true--but in 2011 Black men accounted for fewer than 6 percent of undergraduate students and 4 percent of graduate students, though they made up 8.7 percent of 18-29 year olds.

Janol's good grades allowed him to attend an excellent magnet high school but he realized he didn't see his own experience reflected in the curriculum. He wants to see a new kind of teacher training become a priority throughout the educational system.

Growing up poor, Black, and bright in the Bronx without guidance, by the time Darryl Briggs got to high school he already felt completely ignored, almost invisible. None of the teachers noticed his potential and need for academic challenges, or even noticed him at all.

We know how to make a positive difference in the lives of so many poor Black males. But we have to close the gap between what we know and what we do. We don't have to keep doing the things we're getting wrong.

"It's an issue. Studios want to tell universal stories. We want to do the same thing. But, we want to use Latino stories with Latino faces to tell universal stories. We're all part of one group. We are all humans and we all want to tell human stories."

President Obama has called education the civil rights issue of our time. Now is the time for the next transforming freedom moment and movement -- to set our children free from illiteracy, low expectations, and jobless, hopeless futures.